After Maxing out all Classes

“Eighteen Divinations? What a strange name,” Robb exclaimed in surprise.

The two ship captains chuckled and said, “They probably really like radishes, so they came up with a name like that.”

Robb: “…”

Oh well, let’s not criticize the taste of rabbit names. Criticizing it would be a losing battle.

Robb got to the point, saying, “Since it’s pirates against other pirates, we can ignore them. Let’s just go around the battlefield.”

The fleet started to maneuver, planning to circumvent the battle and continue northward along the coastline.

However, as they began to maneuver, a ship broke away from the battle and headed towards them. A large flag was hoisted on the ship, depicting a huge radish – the emblem of the “Eighteen Divinations.” A group of energetic rabbit people stood on the ship’s bow, each dressed like martial heroes from legends.

Despite the distance, one of the rabbit figures shouted loudly, “You there, in the ships! Are you from the Western Seas? I command you to halt immediately and pay protection money.”

Robb couldn’t help but chuckle, “These guys… are clearly in the middle of a battle with the ghosts, yet they took the time to send a ship to bother us. They’re truly out of their minds.”

The two ship captains looked embarrassed, “That’s how the Eighteen Divinations have always been. Whenever they spot something valuable, they won’t allow a single ounce to escape.”

Robb asked curiously, “Have you encountered this kind of situation before?”

Both captains nodded, “We have! If they’re not too busy, they’ll send a ship to collect protection money and let you pass. If they’re free, a whole fleet might come, and if negotiations don’t go well, they might resort to direct plunder.”

Robb inquired further, “So what did you do in the past?”

The captains said with grimaces, “We paid the protection money! As long as we negotiate properly and pay the fee, they won’t attack. Plus, once we pay, they give us a flag to hang on our ship. No one will dare to mess with us afterward. In these waters, the Eighteen Divinations are the top dogs… although now it seems there’s a new challenger, the ghost pirates.”

Robb burst into laughter, “This sounds like something out of a wuxia novel. Hanging a protection flag, really?”

As they were having a light-hearted conversation, the ship from the Eighteen Divinations had intercepted them. The rabbit figures on the bow repeated their demand loudly, “Stop your ships and pay the protection money… or else you shall…”

Suddenly, Robb’s head popped up from the ship’s bow, and he grinned at the rabbit people ahead, “Hey, Mr. Rabbit, you’re currently in the middle of a battle with ghost pirates, struggling to even the odds. Yet, you managed to spare a ship from the battlefield to collect protection money from us? Just how idle are you?”

Upon hearing Robb speak fluent Standard Mandarin, the rabbit figure couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, “Huh? You foreigner, you’re quite good at speaking our language. Except for calling me ‘Hey’ – even though you’re addressing me with respect – that term actually has another meaning. But since you’re a Westerner, I won’t hold it against you this time. If you dare to call me ‘Hey’ again, I’ll pluck your head and use it as a ball.”

“Wow, got it, Mr. Rabbit!” Robb responded.

The rabbit figure exclaimed, “Damn it! Are you deliberately provoking me?”

Robb retorted, “You’re blocking the path, oh wait, blocking the sea, and still want me to respectfully call you ‘Ye’? You must have a pretty high opinion of yourself. Let me remind you, your small sailboat won’t fare well against my three-masted schooner. Do you believe I can ram into you head-on and sink you to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish?”

The rabbit figure’s face changed, and he shouted, “Hard to port, quick, get out of the way!”

The sailboat hastily turned around to avoid collision, while Robb’s large schooner didn’t stop at all. It charged straight through the spot where the rabbit figures had blocked earlier. If they hadn’t moved, they would have been fish food now.

Furious, he muttered, “You damn Western devil, you dare to disrespect us, the Eighteen Divinations? You’re finished.”

Robb waved cheerfully at him, “Wow, can’t wait for you to finish dealing with the ghost pirates so you can come back and show off to me.”

The rabbit figure didn’t dare provoke the three Western ships now. The ghost pirates were still a problem, and they couldn’t spare enough forces to confront the foreigners.

He waved his cudgel towards the distant three large ships and shouted, “I remember your ship’s appearance. You’re done for. In these waters, you won’t be able to move an inch.”

“I’ll be waiting!” Robb’s voice dissipated in the sea breeze…

The rabbit figure snorted and returned to the cabin. He brought out a basin containing a fish that was swimming around. He quickly wrote a letter: “To our brothers in the north, intercept three Western three-masted ships. Based on their flags, these ships are from the Kingdom of Gran. They dared to disrespect the Eighteen Divinations, refused to pay protection money. They must be killed without mercy. By the way, there’s a young Western devil with blond hair – he’s all talk. Capture him alive; I want to tear him into a thousand pieces.”

He sealed the letter in a small bamboo tube, sealed it with oiled cloth, waterproofing it. Then, he tied it to the fish’s tail.

Once secured, he lifted the basin and hurled it into the air.

The water from the basin splashed into the air, scattering glistening droplets. The fish that had been inside the basin was flung into the air as well. But to everyone’s surprise, it spread a pair of wings mid-air, flapped them twice, and started flying.

As it turned out, it was a flying fish!

It circled around on the rabbits’ sailboat and then flew northward.

Only then did the rabbits turn their boat around and charge toward the ghost bandits.

Robb’s group of ships continued to sail northward, and the rabbits didn’t catch up from behind. It seemed that the threat posed by the ghost pirates was indeed significant. Until they dealt with the ghost pirates, they didn’t have the time to bother with the Westerners.

The two captains expressed some concern, “Godfather, now we’ve completely offended the Eighteen Divinations. We weren’t worried at all when you were here. But once we reach Boning Port and you disembark, it might be a bit difficult for us to return to the Kingdom of Gran.”

Robb chuckled, “I dared to provoke them, so of course, I’ve already come up with a plan for you. After I get off the ship, I’ll create a portal for you. You can take both the ships and yourselves, instantly use the portal to return to the Kingdom of Gran. Let’s see how long it takes for the Eighteen Divinations to find you in these waters.”

The two captains burst into laughter, “Hahaha, that’s amusing! They’ll never expect us to open a portal and escape. They’ll go crazy searching for us in this area, but they’ll keep missing us. That’s going to be so much fun.”